Valencian citrus growers are becoming increasingly anxious because there are practically no purchases in the field, and not many know what the current prices are.
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Those offered by the Council of Agriculture, which are significantly lower than a year ago, are more theoretical than based on actual data, since there are hardly any operations recorded.
The paralysis has taken over the citrus market in the Region of Valencia, which is resulting in a disquieting restlessness. The same producers who were exultant months ago are now sinking into pessimism, fearing for the fate of their production, which in some cases is already ripe, but without any prospective buyers.
Remarkably, this paralysis is especially affecting the Valencian sector; however, it has been confirmed that purchases for first-season varieties are underway in Andalusia and Murcia. And this despite the fact that trade usually concentrates in Valencia.
In part, this may be due to the fact that in the southernmost regions, the fruit of the same variety ripens earlier and can also hit the market earlier, but as the days go by, this factor is no longer important.
Consequently, Valencian producers with already ripe early satsumas and clementines are worried, because they are seeing no interest from buyers, and if they call the brokers, these say that they do not have any purchase orders. The situation is causing producers to fear that crops that are ready to be picked may be wasted or sold with great difficulty.
To top things off, the Ceratitis fly has become a threat, because the mild temperatures recorded have contributed to increasing its population. This entails greater expenses in treatments to fight it.
As far as early mandarins are concerned, there are two other aspects with a negative impact: firstly, the abundance in Europe of perfectly ripe Nadorcott and Tango mandarins from countries of the southern hemisphere, as Spanish mandarins have the disadvantage of being less sweet and not as juicy at this time. Secondly, the low consumption rate, since the demand won't start to increase until more wintery temperatures are recorded.
The abundance of mandarins with deficiencies in terms of flavor and juice content is a problem that had a huge negative impact two years ago, and this seems to be the case again now.
For the flagship clementine variety, the Clemenules, the picture may be different. It will still take weeks before the earliest ones begin to ripen.
While last year at this time we had already heard about some operations, now there are none, but there is still a long time ahead before the start of the campaign.
It seems clear that traders don't want to take any risks before the season kicks off and more is known about the demand, because with this variety there is always the fear of possible rains in November-December that could spoil part of the production, as has happened in other years.
In the orange sector, everyone is waiting for the juice industries to set the prices for the fruit they are going to acquire. It is rumored that the factories will be paying around 12-13 cents per kilo.
Thus, processing industry prices will once again become a reference for the rest of the orange market. Processing plants buy mostly fruit that can hardly be sold in the fresh market, but this serves, in some way, to regulate the entire market.
Some traders also mention the reluctance to buy shown by large distribution chains, pushing prices down. In any case they are buying Navelinas and Salustianas in Andalusia, but not in Valencia. ■